Line 6 Helix Stadium presets and settings

Starting settings on the Line 6 Helix Stadium

Values as the unit's screen shows them, on its own scale; each drawn knob shows that value's share of the range. They are where to begin, not Line 6's numbers: pick the amp model first, then move one control at a time from here.

Clean

US Super Black on its Normal channel, the Agoura model Line 6 bases on the Fender Super Reverb, added with firmware 1.2. Drive 3.0, Bass 5.0, Mid 5.5, Treble 6.0, Sag 5.0. With a darker guitar, turn its Bright switch on: Line 6 says it applies a high frequency boost. Line 6 says amp models often have the Master turned up by default, because that is where the real amp's sweet spot is, and to turn it down if you can't play louder. Keep Add Cab Block on when you pick the amp and a matching Cab block loads to its right; 4x10 US Super, from the Super Reverb's own 4x10 combo cab with CTS alnico speakers, is the cab to pair. US Luxe Black and US Double Black, based on the AB763 Deluxe Reverb and Twin Reverb, are the other Agoura cleans. These are starting points, not Line 6's numbers, on the 0 to 10 scale Helix Stadium shows.

Edge of breakup and blues

Prosecutor, new in firmware 1.4 and the first Line 6 Original amp to use Agoura. Line 6 started from the original Litigator model, with its tone shaping circuit tweaks for easy playing and well-behaved clipping, and replaced every HX tube DSP block with a new Agoura version. Drive 4.5, Bass 4.5, Mid 6.0, Treble 5.5, Sag 6.5. Line 6 says higher Sag values provide more touch dynamics, sustain and the organic feel of vintage tube amps, which is why it sits above half here. For more push, put Minotaur, based on the Klon Centaur, before the amp with its gain low. The Input block's Input Z loads your pickups the way a pedal or an amp would: First Enabled follows the first block that is on, or choose a fixed impedance from 10k Ohm to 1M Ohm. US Tweedman, based on the Fender Bassman 5F6A with Normal, Bright and Jumped channels, is the Agoura tweed to try next.

Classic rock

Brit SL100, the headline of firmware 1.4, which Line 6 calls The Eras Update: four Agoura models in one, from Marshall Super Lead 100 heads of 1967, 1968, 1970 and 1971, each with Normal, Bright and Jumped channels. Set Era to 1968 and Channel to Bright, then Brt Drive 6.5, Bass 4.0, Mid 7.0, Treble 6.0, Presence 5.0. Line 6's notes say the preamp gradually got more gain as time went on and the bright channel got brighter, so move Era to 1970 or 1971 for more crunch; Ben Adrian, Line 6's Sound Design Manager, compares it to the treble booster trick Brian May or Tony Iommi used. BrightCap sets the bright cap on the Brt Drive knob in picofarads, with none or the four most popular values; Line 6 says it can add brightness and bite at lower gain and is more subtle at higher gain. The Brit Plexi screenshot in Line 6's manual runs hotter than this: Jumped channel, NrmDrive 7.5, BrtDrive 7.6, Bass 9.6, Mid 5.7, Treble 6.9 and Master 8.8. 4x12 Greenback 25, from a Marshall Basketweave 4x12 with Celestion G12M-25 speakers, suits both.

Metal

Cali 2C+ on its Lead channel, the Agoura model Line 6 bases on the MESA/Boogie Mark IIC+, added with firmware 1.2. Drive 7.0, Bass 3.0, Mid 4.0, Treble 7.0, Presence 6.0, and LeadDrive 6.0. Drive sets the gain for both channels and LeadDrive the Lead channel's on top of it; LeadMaster is the Lead channel's own master. The model carries the amp's five-band graphic EQ at 80 Hz, 240 Hz, 750 Hz, 2200 Hz and 6600 Hz, and Line 6 notes that, as on the real amp, the bands do not boost and cut by the same amount. Line 6 says lower Sag values offer a tighter response for a more modern feel. In the Input block, turn the Gate on and raise its threshold only until the hiss between chords stops; Decay sets how quickly it closes. Scream 808, based on the Ibanez TS808 Tube Screamer, in front with its gain low tightens palm mutes. EV Panama Red, based on the red channel of an EVH 5150III 100 with 6L6 tubes, and Revv 120 Red, based on the Revv Generator 120's fourth channel, are the other Agoura high gain amps. 4x12 Cali V30, from a MESA/Boogie 4FB cab with Vintage 30 speakers, is a cab to start from.

Lead

Brit Jujube on its Lead channel, the Agoura model Line 6 bases on the Marshall Silver Jubilee 2555X, added with firmware 1.2 with Rhythm, Rhythm Clip and Lead channels. Drive 7.0, Bass 4.5, Mid 6.5, Treble 5.5, Presence 5.5. LeadMaster sets the Lead channel's level after Drive and before the Master, so use it to sit the solo above the rhythm sound. Put a delay after the amp and turn its Trails on: Line 6 says the repeats then continue to fade out naturally when the block is bypassed or a different snapshot is selected. Cosmos Echo, based on the Roland RE-201 Space Echo, and Elephant Man, based on the Electro-Harmonix Deluxe Memory Man, are two delays to start from. To bring the solo in with one press, give it a snapshot, or merge the delay and a boost onto one Stomp switch. Solid 100, based on the Soldano SLO-100, is the other Agoura lead amp, and 4x12 Brit V30, from a Marshall 1960AV cab with Vintage 30 speakers, suits both.

Hype and the Focus View

Every Agoura amp has a Hype knob. Line 6 designed the Agoura models as accurately as possible to sound like the original amps, and says that is not always what a part needs: depending on the amp and its settings, increasing Hype may subtly or dramatically adjust parameters behind the scenes to make the amp sound and feel smoother, fuller, punchier, tighter or more forgiving, at the expense of accuracy. Its product page calls it a control that morphs between ultra-authentic and idealized amp sounds. Focus View is the fast way to rough out a sound: tap the Focus icon and drag the lens between five zones, one in each corner and one in the centre, which holds the model's factory defaults. Brit Plexi's zones are Aussie, Plexi Full, Rembrandt, Red and Cliffs. Then fine-tune with Knobs 1 to 8 under the screen. Line 6's tip: enable Snapshot Control for all of a model's parameters, and each of the eight snapshots can store a different lens position.

Agoura, Legacy and HX amps

Helix Stadium carries two generations of amp. Agoura is Line 6's new modelling method: after firmware 1.4, Line 6 counts 67 Agoura amp channels, and the list below has 24 guitar and 6 bass Agoura models. The HX amps, 111 channels, are the Helix family's, kept so Helix and HX presets load. In list view a faint gray line separates the last Agoura amp from the first HX one, and Line 6 says it made the split vague on purpose so HX amps aren't dismissed as last gen. LEGACY GUITAR and LEGACY BASS hold the HX amps that now have an Agoura version; Line 6 says they are often the newest and best-sounding HX amps and use considerably less DSP than Agoura. All Preamp models are HX: Line 6 suggests them when Stadium feeds an external power amp, and says some work great as drive circuits before full Amp blocks. Clones made with Proxy, added in firmware 1.3, sit in the same lists under CLONE.

Paths, DSP and two amps

Helix Stadium has four paths, 1A, 1B, 2A and 2B, each with 12 block locations, 48 in all, and every path is stereo. Paths 1 and 2 each use their own DSP, so a preset with every block on path 1 uses half of the unit; set Path 1's Output block to Path 2A to run both as one serial chain. A preset can hold up to four Amp or Preamp blocks, two per path, up to four Cab blocks with two cabs or IRs in each, up to four clones and one Looper. Amp, Clone, Reverb and Poly blocks use the most DSP, Agoura amps especially, while Cab, EQ, Dynamics, Volume/Pan and Send/Return blocks use relatively little. Line 6's Parallel Switch and Parallel Blend templates already put two Agoura amps in parallel across paths 1 and 2. To save DSP, Line 6 suggests one Amp block into a Cab block with two different cabs or IRs. A stereo effect uses about twice the DSP of the mono version, so keep effects before the amp mono: the amp sums a stereo signal to mono anyway.

Snapshots

Each preset has eight snapshots, which Line 6 calls presets within a preset. A snapshot stores the on or off state of every block except the Looper, the values of the parameters you enable for Snapshot Control, Command Center values and, if Tempo Select is set to Snapshot, the tempo. It can't swap one amp or effect for another unless both blocks are already in the preset. From Preset or Combo footswitch mode, press FS1 (Bank Up) and FS7 (Bank Down) together for Snapshot mode. To put a knob under snapshot control, press it while turning: the value turns white and appears in brackets. Discard Edits decides what happens to changes when you move between snapshots: off, the default, keeps them; on returns each snapshot to the preset as it was last saved. Turn Trails on in delays and reverbs so they ring on across a change, and press Save twice to quick save.